We, the undersigned employees of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and supportive community members, are writing to express our strong support for renewed legislative action on House Bill H5071 and to call for immediate, proactive measures to ensure the safety and well-being of child welfare staff at DCYF. 

As frontline social workers, investigators, and support staff, we are committed to serving Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families. However, we must be equally clear: verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, and harassment toward staff are not an acceptable or expected part of this work.

Recent incidents involving threats and ongoing verbal abuse toward DCYF staff are not isolated—they reflect a persistent and escalating safety concern across the department. Workers across the department have experienced threatening behavior, and in past cases, staff have been physically assaulted while performing their duties, with some incidents resulting in serious injury and hospitalization.

House Bill H5071 was introduced to designate DCYF caseworkers and investigators as protected public officials under Rhode Island’s threats statute. This legislation reflects the reality that threats toward child welfare workers are frequent, serious, and deserving of stronger protections and accountability.

We believe this legislation is a necessary step toward:

- Recognizing the risks faced by child welfare workers 

- Establishing clear consequences for threatening behavior 

- Supporting a culture of safety, respect, and accountability 

At the same time, legislative action alone is not enough. We call on DCYF administration to take immediate and meaningful steps to address worker safety, including:

- Implementing clear protocols for responding to threats and intimidation 

- Ensuring staff are not expected to engage in unsafe situations 

- Ending the practice of resolving safety concerns through case transfers that redistribute risk rather than address staff safety. 

- Establishing agency-wide expectations that abusive and threatening behavior will not be tolerated 

We should not have to wait for another worker to be harmed before action is taken.

Protecting workers is essential to protecting families. A safe and supported workforce is better equipped to provide the consistent, relationship-based services that children and families deserve.

We are calling for immediate, coordinated action—both legislatively and within the agency—to ensure that no worker is left unsupported in the face of threats, intimidation, or harassment.